Month: December 1980

ONCE AGAIN the spotlight hits the podium. Ray McVay strikes up the band, Peter Gordeno comes dimpling into view, and . . . what the hell has this to do with disco? Yes folks, on a more serious note, it’s time for the Hammy Awards for 1980!

LABEL OF THE YEAR:
“White Label”, the hottest logo of the lot (at least at Record Shack!).

RECORD COMPANY OF THE YEAR:
WEA (including Atlantic, Elektra, WEA, Warner Bros, Whitfield, Carrere), way out ahead with their number of hits among our year-end chart champs.

MARKETING PLOY OF THE YEAR: Arista creating a buzz on Tom Browne ‘Funkin For Jamaica’ via acetates and getting the 12ín out here ahead of the US.

RUNNERS UP:
Record Shack proving you can fool some of the people some of the time by making them think that a white label is in itself worth buying blind. Morgan Khan’s belief that anything already recorded can be made more saleable by a remix.

DISCO PROMOTION PERSON OF THE YEAR:
Morgan Khan, still with a word power problem but now slightly better understood, whose enthusiasm for disco is a 24 hour-a-day obsession.

EVENT OF THE YEAR:
Showstopper Promotions’ Knebworth National Soul Day (and not any ill-fated imitations!)

JOCK OF THE YEAR:
Chris Hill, still the most visible, audible, sensible and outright most impressive of them all.

MIXER OF THE YEAR:
Kenwood Chef.

IN THE GROOVE:
Chris Palmer.

LADIES’ MAN:
Orin Cozier.

JAPANESE GENTLEMAN:
Sadao Watanabe.

SLIMMER OF THE YEAR:
Sean French.

SHOULD TRY HARDER:
Steve Walsh.

FIRST ON THE ‘URBAN COWBOY’ COUNTRY & WESTERN BAND- WAGON:
James ‘Fish’ Heron (which bandwagon was that, or was it really big in Stranraer?).

IF KELLY MARIE CAN DO IT WHY CAN’T SPARGO AND MASSARA?:
Dave McAleer.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO:
Boney M, Chic, Sister Sledge?

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR:
James Brown.

ALBUM SLEEVE YOU’D LEAST LIKE TO WAKE UP NEXT TO:
Prince: ‘Dirty Mind’.

WETTEST TIME OF THE YEAR:
February 1980 in Los Angeles with ‘The Wonderful World Of Webb’ Tours.

BEST TRIP OF THE YEAR:
M1 – M6 – A66 – A595 to the Whitehouse in Whitehaven.

MOST TRAVELLED ROUTE OF THE YEAR:
A12 to and from Caister.

COFFEE TABLE TOME OF THE YEAR:
Bruno Brown’s ‘Family Album’.

DANCE OF THE YEAR:
Rowing.

A NICE LADY REALLY:
Loraine Trent.

WHO SHOT J.R.?:
Don Ghostey (or was it Geno D’Sothy?).

WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES (SCAM OF THE YEAR):
Kanu Sukalagwun.

Well, that little lot will have to do. Thanks for all your Christmas cards. See you in the New Year . . . and (I almost forgot) – KEEP IT GOOD!

HINDSIGHT

1980 – THE YEAR that “disco died”. Oh Yeah? The Americans for some reason may have got cold feet and allowed the media to kill the goose that in 1979 had laid so many golden eggs, but here in Britain if anything, disco in chart terms was never more powerful. The economic recession may have resulted in fewer records being sold, and as the year wore on, in fewer people going out dancing so often, but for several reasons it was obvious that the British are a disco-orientated nation. It is true that 1980 probably saw a real fragmentation within the disco arena of clubs, pubs, mobiles, dance halls and all other venues, dividing them into those that specialise in general popular “dance” music and those that specialise in hard jazz-funk, soul or what is known now as disco. Despite this broadening of the mass taste in dance music, the market for soul-type disco showed its strength as sales of other types of music slumped around it. Soul has always been a fairly predictable seller (just as has been the year’s other “unexpected growth music”, heavy metal) so that when sales in general reached a low ebb, the fans and especially DJs buying the disco releases in their usual steady amounts were enough to push certain records into the charts on sales that previously would not have been sufficient to reach the Top 75. Of course, once a record is seen to be selling, even if in fact only relatively within a depressed market, the media may be more inclined to feature it and – the important factor – record shops to stock it. When those conditions were allied to Top Of The Pops being off the TV screens, the disco hits really had a field day! Jazz-funk may not have won over everyone – the year’s biggest seller (John Lennon not-withstanding) was Kelly Marie, proving that old-style zingy “disco” is still alive too, and Liquid Gold, Ottawan, Lipps Inc, the Nolans and more are a legacy from the previous almost prehistoric disco era who still loom large within the sphere of generally popular dance music. However, it’s fairly safe to say that never before have so many surprisingly hard-core soul and jazz-funk records scored so consistently well within the pop sales charts. Even if radio is unwilling to feature the music outside of its specialist programmes (the ratings of which have grown this year too), at least it’s obvious that this is the music that a large and loyal following are prepared to buy. So, disco is dead? Long live disco! Continue reading “December 27, 1980: Hammy Awards 1980 / “The year that disco died” / End of Year Chart 1980″

ITV’S LOOK at the funk tribes on Sunday’s Twentieth Century Box programme actually got it right and was well worth waking up for! . . . UK Champagne will be a new offshoot from the DJM label for UK-originated product, debuting next month with vocal remix of Altitude ‘Six Nine Shuffle’, whilst Vintage Champagne will put Inferno’s Freda Payne ‘Band Of Gold’ on 12ín . . . Dave McAleer’s plans for Wally Champagne are eagerly awaited . . . PRAT product next month includes Rollercoaster ‘I Wish’ 12in, Sugarhill ‘Greatest Rap Hits EP’ 12in and Skyy ‘Here’s To You’ / ‘No Music’ (Excaliber 12in) . . . Fatman Graham Canter’s party last week at his new Soho Beat Route residency attracted all the mafia and record company regulars, while back at Mayfalr Gullivers with Graham Gold and myself every weekend, the punters say the music’s never been better . . . Fatman helping Chris Hill at the Royalty last Friday, reports that LaToya Jackson seems surprisingly ignorant about the tracks that she’s recorded, having to ask Jermaine whether she’d indeed done Billy Ocean’s ‘Are You Ready’! . . . Rusty Egan (admittedly plus bands) is packing ‘em in at the Venue on Thursdays and now talks of planned electronic/futurist all-dayers just like the soul ones (many of his crowd are crossover fans anyway) – incidentally can anyone come up with a better name for the Spandau Ballet-type scene than “futurist”? . . . Chris Britton launches his new Connection company (handling drink/cigarette/record company club promotions) with a private Mayfair Penthouse Club party tonight (Thursday) . . . Chris Klopper is now known as Chris Kaye (Tunbridge Wells 23186) and due to music changes at various venues, is looking for a good Friday jazz-funk residency in South-East or London . . . Dave Middleton (Bletchley 0908 – 76079) impoverished so wishing everyone a Merry Crlmble via this page instead of Christmas cards, is organising transport to Wimbledon for Tiffanys Boxing Day all-dayer from Milton Keynes for local fans . . . Ian Turner (Llandudno Cock ‘N’ Hen), not content with hickory shafted golf clubs, now craves revealing photos of ladies in stockings and suspenders – send ’em to 30 Rhos Road, Rhos-On-Sea, Colwyn Bay, Clwyd . . . Dave Middleton incidentally should send Ian one of his spectacular 1981 nudie calendars! . . . Steve Wiggins (Barry Freddies Bar) sent me a sprig of Christmas tree, saying it’s better than a quid (oh yeah?) as if I plant it, it could be a forest next year! . . . Steve Dee’s roadie Colin France has booked to go to Los Angeles next year to see what the jazz-funk scene is like out there – er, what jazz-funk scene? . . . US import newies not covered this issue include specialist sets from Dan Siegel, Terumasa Hino, Gil Scott-Heron, soul from Dee Dee Sharp Gamble, the Futures, and a “very rocky” Rinder & Lewis . . . MFSB ‘Mysteries Of The World’ can be a trick when it lulls, but Ray Martinez ‘The Natives Are Restless‘ (US Importe / 33 12in) bridges the beat perfectly – while other mixes I’ve been meaning to mention for ages include Ned Doheny synched for a long run out of Shakatak, Linx minus intro chopped out of Ned Doheny, Gap Band ‘Oops’ synched for a long run (starting at second “oops”) through Zapp, Real Thing out of LOTW ‘Sheriff’, and JR Funk ‘Feel Good Party Time’ (US Brass 12in) varied up minus intro out of James Brown. Graham Gold’s killer mix is Glen Adams Affair, tightly synching when the backing drops halfway on into Glory ‘Can You Guess What Groove This Is?’ (US Posse 12in), this then chopping into First Love ‘Don’t Say Goodnight’ (US Dakar 12in) . . . Froggy makes the point that his major mixes use records that are well known as then the ingredients of the mix are easier to spot and have greater impact . . . I suppose next week you’ll want the ‘Hammy’ awards for 1980 and the year’s end chart plus chart-toppers, so until then, BURPY BEANFEAST!

IMPORTS

YOUNG AND COMPANY: ‘Strut Your Stuff’ (LP ‘I Like What You’re Doing To Me’ US Brunswick BL 754224).
Nicely old-fashioned looking strong set produced with endearingly youthful civic pride in East Orange, New Jersey, the already proven killer being this sparer, funkier 116 – 115 – 116bpm variation (but by no means carbon copy) of their title track hit formula while also similar is the 122 – 123 – 124bpm ‘Waiting On Your Love‘, the rolling 111 – 113bpm ‘Checking You Out‘ being a bit monotonous and the 131 – 133 – 134bpm ‘Love Me All Night‘ reminiscent to these aged ears of 1964’s Sapphires. And they have nothing to do with Young-Holt. MK!

DEMO CATES: ‘Jamin’ (Sax)’ (Canadian Scorpio DK 49).
Suddenly six 12in remakes from Canada of various recent dance hits have arrived here, all featuring a different variety of rap on one side and even better, a jazz-funk instrumental version on the other, the artists all containing someone called Demo who presumably plays sax. This at 127bpm (mixing with Funk Masters) is Stevie’s ‘Masterblaster (Jammin’)’. DEMO-BARRY ‘Funk‘ (DK 43) at 111 – 112 – 110 – 112bpm is Tom Browne’s ‘Funkin’ For Jamaica (NY)’. BOBBY/DEMO ‘Ounce (Rap)‘ (DK 47) at 101bpm (nice out of Yarbrough & People’s) is Zapp’s ‘More Bounce To The Ounce’. BARRY & DEMO ‘Another’ (DK44) at 110bpm is Queen’s ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, while a version of Cameron’s ‘Magic’ in the same series is proving elusive. Why not get the set?

MAURICE WHITE, in London last week, tells me that Earth Wind & Fire’s US newie will be a remixed ‘And Love Goes On’ . . . Tom Browne’s up-coming ‘Magic’ LP title-track will be on UK 12in early January . . . Champagne is evidently picking up Gil Scott-Heron ‘The Bottle’ . . . Mtume and Jermaine Jackson current singles are now on 12in, while the Jacksons ‘Lovely One’ has been selling strongly on French import 12in . . . Change ‘The Glow Of Love’ is not so much a remix as a longer extended 8:15 version . . . LWT’s ‘Twentieth Century Box’ programme about the tribes at Southgate Royalty with Chris Hill will be on ITV this Sunday (14) at 1:30 pm . . . Thames Valley DJ Assn’s Xmas party and surprise “quiz” is at noon on Sunday at Slough Alexandra’s in Bath Road, Cippenham, and later that evening the London Organisation Of DJ’s party at Mayfair Baileys Wine Bar in North Audley Street . . . BBC Radio Norfolk’s Wally Webb Show precedes the networked Top 40 on Sundays from 3 to 5pm with a weekly guest DJ, import and UK newie reviews – Wally being the only local jock with a job on the station . . . Funktion/Playboy Club’s Tony ‘The Perk” Jenkins recommends a killer mixer sent from the States, ‘Manhattan No. 1 Special Disco Mix‘ (US Disco Sample Records Inc 12in) . . . Ray Stevens now jocks for Funktion at Baker Street Barracuda on Saturdays, Fridays at the Penthouse having been dropped, while Funktion’s Embassy Sundays now start with roller disco until 10pm and their Tuesdays at Heaven are the best venue of the lot – superb lighting, cheapo cheapo bar prices, great atmosphere . . . Stringfellows’ lighting is like something from ‘Close Encounters Of The Third Kind’ but otherwise the much-vaunted St Martins Lane Nightspot is like a better decorated provincial Scamps . . . Graham Gold has really cracked it at Mayfair Gullivers, creating a great happy atmosphere with well mixed good music . . . Ian Shaw, funking Southall Georgina’s on Tues/Fridays, no longer has his Richmond Cheekee Pete’s and Brollys funk gigs following the management’s demand that he play pure “disco”, which he did and they still didn’t like it . . . American media people are seemingly so scared of the “disco” connotation that even the theme tune to TV’s ‘CHiPs’ has been de-discofied (and sounds awful now) . . . I must confess to thoroughly enjoying Ottawan ‘D.I.S.C.O.’ (at least the French version) at my mobile gigs – shock horror gasp sensation! – the strange long instrumental break mixing nicely on into Tabou Combo ‘New York City‘ . . . Ralph Tee of the burgeoning ‘Groove Weekly’ fanzine should note that Kanu Sukalagwun doesn’t play a Hammond organ, but a Yamaha (of course!) . . . ConFunkShun’s old ‘Ffun‘ at 111 – 113bpm could be worth trying again . . . Adrian Lauder & John Aitchison of Kilmarnock’s Charisma Discos and LA Lighting & Audio were first in with a Christmas card this year – they obviously got in before the last posting date for England! . . . Britain’s current austerity with punters going out less often will mean that they are likely only to know the radio hits when they do go out this Christmas, so within reason do your best to KEEP IT GOOD!

IMPORTS

JAMES BROWN: ‘Funky Men’ (LP ‘Soul Syndrome’ US TK 615).
Looking great on the sleeve and sounding good in the groove. Mr Brown is back on form with a dynamite long 13:58 version of the 116bpm ‘Rapp Payback‘ hit which now expands more loosely through various bass-backed breaks, the other killer being this typical strung-out 120 – 114 – 119 – 116 (bridge) – 120 – 118 – 119 – 120bpm strutting rampage (is that Bobby Byrd and even the Flames back in there?), while ‘Smokin’ & Drinkin’’ is a coughing-punctuated 110bpm convoluted patterer, ‘Stay With Me‘ a tense slow 102bpm chugger, and the basically instrumental 130bpm ‘Honky Tonk’ and 149bpm ‘Mashed Potatoes’ are re-made oldies.

DRAMATICS: ‘Get It’ (LP ‘The Dramatic Way’ US MCA MCA-5146).
Strange almost ‘Bolero’-like ever-building low-key then tensely exciting hypnotic ebbing and flowing 107 – 108 – 112 – 113 – 110 – 112 – 114 – 111bpm thudder goes through various stages, some with a steady smack added to the perpetually pulsing rhythm or searing sax taking over from the nagging vocal patterns. Out a while but at the time I thought too complex to catch on, it was broken by Chris Hill at Southampton and is now spreading fast.

STEVIE WONDER, rather than ‘Happy Birthday’ or even ‘Lately’, has chosen ‘I Ain’t Gonna Stand For It’ as his next single . . . UK 12in releases due imminently include Grover Washington Jr ‘Let It Flow’ / ‘Winelight’, Yarbrough & Peoples ‘Don’t Stop The Music’, Ernie Watts ‘Just Holdin On’, Lenny White ‘Kid Stuff’ / ‘Slip Away’ / ‘Fancy Dancer’ (the last title only on the 12in, not the 7in) . . . James Brown ‘Rapp Payback’ is apparently unavailable to CBS here due to his Polydor / TK contract wrangle . . . Millie Jackson’s brand new send-up of Kurtis Blow and other rappers, ‘I Had To Say It‘, will be on promo 12in by Xmas with luck . . . WEA import LPs actually available here with UK catalogue numbers are Patrice Rushen (K 52260), Lenny White (K 52261), Grover Washington (K 52262), Prince (K 56862), Slave (SD 5224), Ritchie Rome (E6 256), Ernie Watts (E6 285) . . . London’s DJ world has been shaken by Fatman Graham Canter leaving Mayfair Gullivers for Soho Le Beat Route “to put it back on its feet” (at least it’ll be handy for Groove just across Greek Street!), but his replacement at Gullivers in the diminutive form of Graham Gold is already proving popular with the punters (when I’m with him at the weekends it’s the Little & Large show!) . . . Excaliber have won Skyy (their ‘Here’s To You’ is on US 12in promo), and in the chart race between the PRAT ex-partners Morgan Khan is way ahead of Dave McAleer thanks to Young & Co . . . Fred Dove has temporarily suspended WEA’s club mailing list as he (probably with reason) reckons that the slump in attendances means it’s less easy to find sufficient time when the club is full to plug new product effectively . . . Showstopper Promotions next National Soul Day will be indoors at the Brighton Conference Centre (with full facilities already built-in) on 4th May 1981, Caister 7 at the old camp being the weekend of April 10/11/12th . . . Greg Davies (0234-49932) could have work for experienced club jocks in the Beds/Herts area . . . Paul of the Cavalis reggae label (adding jazz-funk material next year) invites jocks to send full work details for mailing list consideration to him at Cavalis Ltd, 82 Rivington Street, London EC2 . . . Steve Dennis next Friday (12) holds a ‘World Rowing Championship’ for teams of five from clubs anywhere competing for speed rowing on machines and for style to ‘Oops’, full details from him at the venue, Faces, Five Ways, Birmingham 15 . . . London Weekend Television’s Royalty-filmed “tribes” show will now go out at 1:30 on Sunday week (14) . . . Polydor mailing list jocks recently polled about their music paper reading habits, kept Record Mirror way ahead of the rest for the third poll running . . . Alan Jones last week neglected to mention Stephanie Mills main juvenile claim to fame being her creation of the Diana Ross / Judy Garland role in the original stage production of ‘The Wiz’, following which Motown signed her but she left the label when the movie role didn’t go to her . . . O V Wright of ‘That’s How Strong My Love Is’ fame recently died, and Dramatics’ composer Tony Hester was murdered in a Detroit mugging . . . Antonia Rodriguez ‘La Bamba’ still seems big in Scotland / far North, while the influx of up-country mobile/mailing list-orientated chart contributors is having such effect on the UK Disco 90 as putting ‘D.I.S.C.O.’ back into the Top 30 and generally confirming what we already know is (or more to the point has been) popular with pop buyers . . . I am tempted to start two different charts, one for general jocks and one for soul specialists . . . Steve Walsh when last seen was playing ‘Bourgie Bourgie at Harringey Lazers’ Thursday ladies night, where Nicky Price serves fruit salads disguising knockout cocktails to trap unwary innocents . . . Chris Dinnis (Exeter Boxes) still maintains his Kanu Sukalagwun was a white label given to him by a friend (?) from London who told him the titles and that it was hot – if true, the moral Chris is, don’t trust Londoners bearing gifts! . . . Sterling Vann (Bethnal Green Tipples) found Kunz Donkumnobiga ‘T.O.B.E.D. (There’s One Born Every Day)’ (Japanese Tight Ship LP), while on the anagram Rick Shaun James (Ayesbury) has M Janoit ‘Le Sham’ (French Bonne – Farce 12in) – this disguises a disco journalist ‘not a million miles from me’ – and DJF Press Officer Frank W Smith (sorry, Mailin StMilkwharf) sent in a letter filled with DJ anagrams . . . Soho’s Groove Records has a supply of kazoos for Skyy purchasers . . . WEA’s “Surface Noise makes me crack up” isn’t the most tactful badge slogan . . . Pye’s cutting lathe runs slightly fast, explaining the difference in BPM between US and UK releases on Excaliber . . . Sugarhill Gang did indeed find friends at Funktion . . . Paul Clark & Phil Leppard’s jazz-funk Thursdays at Brighton Metro, once the “no-jeans” bastion of John Lewis, now welcomes jeans and T-shirts . . . Ian The Frogsaver has so many records that, at his Wednesday jazz-funk nights with Dave Middleton at Bletchley Peaches, he’ll buy a round of drinks if anyone asks him for a record he hasn’t got . . . Martin Platts (Blackburn) runs five miles every morning, doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, but does the other! . . . Honey Bee Benson now seems to be at Bishop’s Stortford Triad Leisure Centre . . . Tom Wilson (Edinburgh Oscars) says, “next time remember Margaret Thatcher is old enough to be your mother” – not mine mate, unfortunately, unless she was a child bride! . . . DJF’s aggressive new MU-opposing slogan sports a clenched fist and the message, “Hire a Live DJ” . . . KEEP IT DEAD!

CHANGE: ‘The Glow Of Love’ (WEA K 79187T).
The ‘Lover’s Holiday’-flipping original LP version has been on stop-gap 12in again until now finally the extended 119bpm 12in remix of the lovely creamily rolling Luther Vandross-sung modern soul classic is officially out, with the shrill chix-sung 128bpm ‘It’s A Girl’s Affair‘ as flip. Check which version you’re buying as this was the LP version’s flip too.